Providing perspective on the economics and politics of sports business in Florida...and the Rays' campaign for a new stadium in Tampa Bay.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Where Buccaneers' Players, Glazers Put Their Campaign Donations

When it comes to athletes contributing to political campaigns, no Tampa-area players have been as engaged as former members of the Bucs. Nearly a dozen players have contributed tens of thousands of dollars to mostly-Democratic campaigns, including Kellen Winslow Jr., Michael Clayton, and Cato June all donating to Obama.

The donations were among the many findings of my recent piece for WTSP/10 News on political contributions from sports teams and sports stars. To see the entire list and interactive database, continue reading here.

The Glazer family, which owns the Bucs, also leaned to the left, contributing $46,000 to National Democratic committees and another $4,800 to Charlie Crist's Independent Senatorial run in 2009.

However, the team itself has been largely bipartisan with its campaign contributions, donating tens of thousands of dollars to both the state Democratic and Republican parties in the late 1990s when it was working to build a stadium with public dollars. The Bucs also donated $57,800 to Moving Hillsborough Forward in 2010 and $25,000 to Friends of Greenlight in 2014.

Other donors in the database include former coach Raheem Morris and former players Chidi Ahanotu, Jamael "Ronde" Barber, Brooks, and Brad Culpepper.